RAA Creates Safety Task Force
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The exclusive bi-monthly magazine covering the news and activities of the Regional Airline Association November/December 2009 Issue 39 Available on the RAA website www.raa.org CHAIRMAN’S VIEW RAA creates Safety Task Force Likely the first-ever committee Kit will provide airlines with an to bring together two separate industry leading resource document groups — operations and safety that members can use to develop — the RAA has created a Safety or enhance their fatigue training Task Force with the support of its program. Regional Operations Council and “Nearly all of our RAA member Safety Council. A steering com- airlines have a representative on the mittee will develop the objectives, ROC and Safety Council, so the scope of work and work plan which decision to bring these two groups will include supporting the develop- together with separate responsibili- Russell “Chip” Childs, ment of the Fatigue Management ties will pool resources and focus SkyWest Airlines Tool Kit and support of RAA’s own this industry’s efforts to once again Strategic Safety Initiative (SSI). show the traveling public that safety Safety First at SSI includes the Fatigue Study, is always the number one priority RAA which is designed to determine the for regional airlines,” RAA Vice It’s a great honor – and respon- effects of workload on pilot fatigue. President Scott Foose tells Regional sibility – being elected as RAA’s The new Fatigue Management Tool Horizons. new Chairman since I recognize the association is facing one of the most challenging times in All airlines are one industry and one level of safety its 35-year history. It was very apparent during last month’s Fall Before the Aviation Subcommittee, RAA President • This year is the first in a decade that regional airline Meeting in Washington, DC that Roger Cohen presented the following statistics: employment levels dropped; even after September 11 regional airlines continued to grow. regional airlines are at a real cross- • Since 2000, regional carriers have gone from conduct- roads. Every committee session, ing a little more than 40 percent of scheduled com- • This is also the first time in a decade that the number Presidents’ Council and Board mercial flights to operating more than 50 percent of of passengers flying on regionals, has dropped, as did meeting focused on what we as an commercial flights. 2009 year to date = 51.3 percent capacity, but that drop is less than that on majors. 2009 capacity change to date = Mainline (8.8%); Regionals industry will do to underline to • More than 25 percent of commercial airline passen- (1.9%) the traveling public our continued gers — 159 million — fly on regional airlines. 2009 year commitment to the safest possible to date = 26.3 percent • Despite the cutbacks at regional carriers — owing to regional airline industry. the recession and fuel costs — regionals’ share of both • Of the more than 600 communities served by all US seats and departures have actually increased in 2009. It was most appropriate that airlines, nearly 75 percent of America’s cities and towns Regional carriers are expected to operate some five mil- FAA Administrator Babbitt told are served exclusively by regional airlines. lion scheduled passenger flights this year. >>19 PUBLISHED BY 3 15 IN PARTNERSHIP WITH 7 regional horizons November/December 2009 1 AP_usa_GB_8x11.indd 1 18/02/09 17:40:09 RAA approves independent fatigue study focusing on multi-leg flights Research Professor Dr. Hans Van Dongen (seated) and Director Dr. Gregory Belenky re- view fatigue studies at the Washington State University Sleep and Performance Research Center located in Spokane Pilot fatigue continues to be a critical element of the public policy debate only for RAA member airlines, but for the airline industry in general. These surrounding aviation safety this year. Congress, FAA and NTSB have made include: it a priority focus, and the recently concluded Flight & Duty Time Aviation Credible, independent fact-based evidence for the industry’s response to Rulemaking Committee (ARC) represents just the first step in what will be an NPRM scheduled for release by the end of this year the first major revision in decades to the rule for scheduling air carrier pilots. Research and best practices within a resource document that each airline While all aviation stakeholders have expressed support for rules “based on the may incorporate into their own fatigue training program (an expected best available science,” the perception remains– unfortunately held by some requirement under the new rules) key regulators and legislators - that multi-segment flying is more “fatiguing” Information to help airline managers assess risk and other issues in devel- compared to long haul schedules with fewer but longer flights. oping pilot schedules and SMS programs Since virtually all research into the relationship of fatigue in aviation has been A means to share the cost of developing their own Fatigue Risk Manage- centered around these longer stage lengths, one of the key elements of RAA’s ment Systems (FRMS), a tool to potentially allow for some deviation/flex- Strategic Safety Initiative (SSI) is a study of fatiguing effects of workload on ibility from proscriptive rules regional airline pilots. This ground-breaking study will accomplish these vital Fulfilling RAA’s commitment to Congress, and demonstrating the indus- objectives: try’s pro-active efforts to prevent future accidents. Close the “gap” in available science Define how fatigue relates to workload During last month’s RAA Fall Meeting, the Board approved funding for Phase Identify ways to avoid and mitigate fatigue One of a three part, ground-breaking, independent study through Washing- Demonstrates the regional airline industry’s continued focus on safety. ton State University’s Sleep and Performance Research Center. Preliminary results are expected next spring and will be shared during the Association’s An- The work product from the Fatigue Study will serve multiple purposes, not nual Convention in Milwaukee, May 24-27. regional horizons November/December 2009 3 Dr. Hans Van Dongen of Washing- ton State University outlined his work on fatigue concepts and ter- minology, including fatigue model- ing and the issue of workload to the ROC, Safety Directors as well as to the Presidents’ Council (see related story on page 3) Presidents’ Council and Board of Directors meet during the Fall Meeting 2009 RAA Fall Meeting coverage November 9-11 Washington, DC ASA’s Charlie Tutt briefed the Regional Operations Council (ROC) on its pilot hiring and performance analysis practices RAA President Roger Cohen thanks FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt (right) for speaking to RAA Fall Meeting attendees FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt calls for safety culture at RAA Fall Meeting FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt underlined the need for professionalism in the cockpit during his remarks to the Presidents Council luncheon and emphasized the Call to Action has identified issues that are fundamental to aviation safety. “Safety is not, nor should it ever be, a slogan. It’s got to be part of the culture — your culture — and if it’s not, there’s no question in my mind that the safety trends will begin to level out, and then they’ll dip. And when they dip, accidents happen and lives are lost.” He emphasized that “safety needs to be part of our decision-making process for every flight and every task.” Babbitt listed the focus items of the Call to Action: • the need to maintain professionalism in the cockpit • flight monitoring • crew fatigue • importance of establishing and following good standard operating proce- dures • compensation practices and flight crew experience • maintenance practices • and a host of training issues. 4 regional horizons | November/December 2009 New Board elected for RAA Russell “Chip” Childs, President and COO SkyWest Airlines, was elected Chair of the Board of Directors of the Regional Airline Association (RAA) for the 2009/2010 term. Other officers elected at the association’s Fall Presidents’ Council meeting Above, left to right: CommutAir’s John Sullivan and Joel Raymond, American Eagle’s Peter Bowler, TranStates’ Rick Leach Membership Meeting held No- Below left, left to right: JazzAir’s Joe Randall, Piedmont’s Steve Farrow, Cape Air’s Dan Wolf vember 9-11 in Washington, DC Below right, left to right: PSA Airline’s Keith Houk, Great Lakes’ Chuck Howell, ExpressJet’s Jim Ream were Vice Chair Jim Rankin, Air Wisconsin; Treasurer Dan Wolf, Cape Air; and Secretary Keith Houk, PSA Airlines (elected to Board term expiring 2012). Jim Ream of ExpressJet; Joe Randell, Jazz Air; and Rick Leach, Trans States Holdings; were re-elected to the RAA Board for terms through 2012. They will join current members Peter Bowler, American Eagle; Tim Komberec, Empire Airlines; Doug Voss, Great Lakes Aviation; Dave Hackett, Delta Captain Jim Mangie, who also Gulfstream International Airlines; served as the Industry Chair of the and Bryan Bedford, Republic Advisory Rulemaking Committee (ARC) and Notice of Proposed Rule Airways. Making (NPRM), told attendees that Jerry Schumacher of US Tech- by early January an NPRM will be nical and Lucas Aardenburg of published focusing on revised FAA Flight/Duty/Rest regulations SNECMA were elected Chair and Vice Chair respectively of RAA’s Associate Member Council (AMC) representing nearly 300 leading suppliers of products and services to the regional airline industry. The Associate Member Council met with the Presidents’ Council and Board John Allen, FAA Director-Flight Standards Service, updated both the ROC and Safety Directors Committee on the background of HR 3371, the Airline Pilot Training and Safety Act. He noted that FAA is aggressively looking for ways to address the issue of better operational experience for pilots who carry commercial passen- gers. Although the ATP requirement proposed in HR 3371 is one option, FAA’s concern is that it focuses on quantity rather than quality and scope of training and experience.